How to Make Money from Home Flipping Furniture

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Many of us would love to work from home, but some of us might want to do something that’s a bit more hands-on and creative than the typical online job. Even if you don’t think you’re that creative!

Today, I have Virginia Sullenberger on the blog to tell us how she started her furniture flipping business. A furniture flipper buys old furniture at garage sales or thrift shops or even online marketplaces like Facebook and Craigslist. They then revamp the furniture by painting it, repairing it, or adding other embellishments. Virginia has always loved finding new ways to make money from home and started flipping furniture on the advice of her sister who was doing well with it. With furniture flipping, she found a really flexible part-time side hustle that she can fit around her family’s needs.

Take it away, Virginia!

Table of Contents

1. Hi, Virginia! Tell us a little bit about you and your business. What’s your work-at-home job?

I’ve been a stay-at-home-mom for the past seven years. I have four little girls, and I’m so thankful to have the opportunity to be at home with them all the time!

My sister and I started flipping furniture together about four years ago. We both fell in love with transforming old, ugly furniture into something beautiful and desirable. It’s a very rewarding job!

2. That sounds awesome! It must be a great feeling to breathe new life into an old piece of furniture. Why did you decide on this line of work and how did you get started?

I’ve always loved finding new and fun ways to make money from home without working for someone else. Before flipping furniture, I sold things on eBay, had an Etsy shop, and started a Facebook page selling used designer jeans!

My sister was the first to start flipping furniture, and she told me I should give it a shot. At first, I thought I’d be terrible at it because I never considered myself a very creative person, but I sold my first piece a few hours after listing it, and I was pretty much hooked from that point on!

3. It just shows you shouldn’t knock something until you’ve tried it! Did you need any training or experience for this job? Did you take any courses?

No experience required! Although I watched every YouTube tutorial I could find! It’s like any craft, practice makes perfect. I messed up a lot at first (I still do sometimes!).

After about a year, we took a furniture flipping business course that helped bring our business to a whole new level. It just helped us treat what we considered our hobby like a professional business, and in turn, it helped us bring in tons of new clients and we never lacked for work!

4. YouTube is the best! Talk us through a typical workday.

Honestly, there are no “typical” workdays in this field; every project is different. That’s part of what makes it so appealing! We flipped furniture part-time, so it wasn’t an every day, 9–5 type of thing.

It typically only takes 2–4 hours of total labor time to paint a piece of furniture from start to finish, but with kids (I have four and my sister has five), we would spread that time out over a period of days or even weeks.

The great thing about flipping furniture is that you can do as much or as little as you want. You can also make as much or as little as you want. It really all depends on how much time you want to devote to it!

5. Is this your full-time job or a side hustle? How many hours a week do you work?

This is definitely a part-time side hustle for me, but as I mentioned earlier, it can easily be your full-time job!

We never worked the same amount of hours every week; it was really just dependent on what we needed to get done. It’s an extremely flexible side hustle!

Related Content: 8 Side Hustle Ideas I Can Vouch For

6. What one quality would you say is the most important for your job?

The most important quality would be a desire to always do your best on every single piece of furniture you sell. If you consistently turn out top quality work, you will succeed in this business.

7. Great tip! Having a good reputation is important in any business. What one tool could you not live without?

Paint that is non-toxic and requires very little prep! If I had to sand down every piece of furniture to bare wood or paint outside in our garage in the cold/heat, I wouldn’t have lasted in this business for five minutes!

8. How do you manage your work/life balance when you work from home?

As I mentioned earlier, I flip furniture very part-time. Any painting I do usually occurs when the kids are napping or after putting them to bed for the night! It really doesn’t interfere much with my daily schedule.

9. What’s your favorite part about your job?

Finding amazing, unique pieces of furniture to flip. It’s like a treasure hunt!

10. Who doesn’t love a treasure hunt! 🙂 What’s the most challenging part of your job?

Messing up or hating the outcome of a furniture piece and having to start over.

11. Any advice for someone interested in getting started with this work-at-home career?

Just give it a shot; you’ll probably love it! Start with something small to paint and work your way up so you don’t get overwhelmed with a project. Experiment with different paint brands, colors, and techniques. Flipping furniture should never be boring!

I’m Virginia (legally spelled Virginie). I’m French Canadian and I grew up in a small village in Quebec, Canada.

I met and married my ruggedly handsome American hubby almost 11 years ago and together we settled down in an 1876 farmhouse in the Ohio countryside with our four precious girls.

I’m a child of God, DIY enthusiast, adventure lover, and I’ve been addicted to coffee since I was 12!

In my “spare time,” I flip furniture – www.facebook.com/rustiquelegance – and run a DIY/Lifestyle blog called Just Life and Coffee. You can also follow along on my day-to-day DIY and mom life on Instagram. I’d love to have you along for the ride!

Wow! I don’t know about you, but I definitely feel the urge to hit up my local thrift shop now to see if they have any cool old furniture! It sounds like so much fun to turn something ugly into something new and attractive. And make money from it!

Would you like to give furniture flipping a try? Any other hands-on, creative side hustles you can recommend? Let me know in the comments!

Looking for more work-from-home ideas? Find out how you can work from home as a

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